Friday, June 17, 2011

Slumgullion #66

Break Out The Cake And Champagne. Today marks my 500th post on Broken Hearted Toy, dating back to August of 2009. I’d like to thank my wife Pam for setting up this blog and offering so much technical, and occasionally, writing advice. Also, thanks to Steve Forstneger and John Vernon at the Illinois Entertainer for their support. I appreciate all the visitors, especially those who have taken the time to post a comment, or become followers of Broken Hearted Toy.

Thanks to the musicians who have sent CDs to be reviewed, and everyone who has kept me up to date on their various creative endeavors. The Valley Downs, Van Go, Go Time, The Handcuffs, Maple Mars, Ultraviolet Eye, Tomorrow The Moon, The Britannicas, Panther Style, WhiteWolfSonicPrincess, The Telepaths, Mimi Betinis, Linda Good, Todd Wright, Linda Matlow, Hugh Hart, Bud Monaco, Braam, This Is This, Julie Blore-Bizot, Jeff Kelley from Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff, The Bad Examples, Cliff Johnson, Hollus, Kevin Lee, The Reptoids, Welcome To Ashley, Lannie Flowers, Matt Dodge & The Lobsters, Phil Angotti, Material Re-Issue, Matt Ryd, Severed Limb, Aaron Fox and The Reliables, Magatha Trysty, Red Light Driver, The Greenwoods, Roxy Swain, Dan Pavelich, and The Bradburys. I apologize if I’ve left any one out.

It’s also been a kick to hear from people like Bobby Elliott of The Hollies, Vicky Peterson of The Bangles, David Bash of International Pop Overthrow, Dennis Diken of The Smithereens, and Jon Auer of The Posies via emails, Facebook messages, and tweets, thanking me for writing about them.

Tie Dye One On.Peace Fest Chicago kicks off with a Drum Circle led by Huntress Diana at noon today at 1700 N. Stockton in Lincoln Park, just south of the zoo. The free festival, which will run through 9:00 PM on Sunday, is the work of musician Genral Patton, who will perform with the band His Privates late Saturday afternoon. Many of the 24 musical acts scheduled to appear, especially Sunday’s headliner Paradise Waits, lean toward the Grateful Dead school of rock, but hip hop, funk, reggae, ska, and country will be represented as well. Peace Fest Chicago will also have art on display, as well as vendors selling their goods.

Speaking Of Hippies And Yippies.Mary-Arrchie Theatre has already begun meetings in preparation for its annual three-day, virtually non-stop celebration of drama, comedy, and performance art. Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Festival XXIII will be staged from 7:00 PM Friday, August 19th through very late Sunday, August 21st. Mary-Arrchie will be performing pieces, along with performances by Factory Theater, A Red Orchid Theatre, Rush Pearson, Theatre O The Absurd, Democracy Burlesque, Black Forest, and several others. My old comedy group Famous In The Future will continue its string of appearing at every Abbie Fest since 1989. FIF founder Frank Carr and Mary-Arrchie Theatre Artistic Director Rich Cotovsky (who authentically portrays the controversial Mr. Hoffman) are the only two individuals who have performed at every Abbie.

A Different FIF. Faith In The Fallen, a hard-hitting rock band featuring former Famous In The Future and current New Millennium Theatre member Guy Schingoethe, will be performing as part of five-act lineup tonight at Penny Road Pub in Barrington Hills. Faith In The Fallen goes on at 8:15.

Power Pop That Keeps On Giving. Bruce Brodeen, the former owner of the Not Lame record label, has just released Power Pop Prime No. 7. Subtitled, A Pop Geek’s Guide To Awesome: The Not Lame Years, the book can be purchased for $39.95 from the PopGeekHeaven website. Like every volume in the Power Pop Prime series, No. 7 comes with a limited edition various artists CD compilation. As an additional bonus to those who buy the book, Brodeen promises they’ll start receiving “special surprises via email that will not only enhance the value of your investment but enhance the experience of the content inside [the] book for you.”

Rockin’ The Tiki. The Brill Babies, a local band that covers rock and soul from the 1950s through the 1980s, will be part of a double bill with Hornstars tomorrow night at Cabana Charley’s Tiki Bar & Grill in Woodridge, Illinois. The music starts at 8:30 PM.

In My Life.Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs, a 288 page hardcover collection of photos taken by the famous photographer and wife of Paul McCartney, has just been published by Taschen. In addition to shots of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and other iconic bands, the book, which was created with considerable input from Paul and other family members, is said to offer a glimpse of her personal life. Fellow Rolling Stone photographer Annie Leibovitz and art historian Martin Harrison contributed copy, and Alison Castle served as editor. On a related note, Chicago Tribune reporter Sandra M. Jones recently did a piece on Taschen opening a store inside the Art Institute Museum Shop in Chicago.

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About This Blog

Broken Hearted Toy is an eclectic celebration of creativity, with over 2,000 posts since 2009.

It's based in Chicago but covers power pop, garage, cutting-edge, and 1960s rock from around the globe; along with occasional bits on art; literature; and theatre.

Top of the hill is a nice place to be at. - - - "Elevated Observations" by The Hollies.

Check out some of my previoius creative endeavors.

Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff was a weekly Internet show created by and starring Jeff Kelley. It mostly consisted of comedy bits and obscure 1960s garage rock set to vintage TV and film clips but also spotlighted entertainment events around Illinois.

My wife Pam and I created a handful of series (each episode was about two minutes long) that were shown on Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. They included Manchester Gallery (see description below); Old Days, which I hosted in the persona of a cranky old man named Fritz Willoughby; Roving Reporter, where I played the clueless title character; What's With Terry?, a performance arts program; and Hanging With The Hollies, a takeoff on Breakfast With The Beatles.

I've also worked with Kelley and Willy Deal on comedy clips, and with Kelley and David Metzger on films for the annual Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween festival in Elgin.

I'm particularly proud of this 21-episode comedy series Pam and I created for Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. Each installment was a few minutes long, and featured me portraying Terrence, the curator of a pop culture museum.

I was a staff writer for this Chicago-based magazine from 1987 to 2015. The Illinois Entertainer has been covering rock music for over 40 years, and can be found in stores and entertainment venues, as well as in an online edition.

Chicago Art Machine was a web-based publishing company run by Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Born, and Managing Editor, Robin Dluzen, that included Chicago Art Magazine, Chicago DIY Film,Chicago Performance And Trailers, and TINC. Most of my submissions appeared in Chicago DIY Film and Chicago Performance And Trailers, although I contributed to all the online Chicago Art Machine publications.

I was a writer and performer with this local comedy group from 1989 to 2009. Famous In The Future continues to perform in the Chicago area, and appeared at every one of the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sinstheatre festivals that were held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Since the closing of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a few years ago, Famous In The Future has carried on the tradition by presenting Yippie Fest each year in August.

I'm an active member of SCBWI, (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and have written two Middle Grade fantasy novels. I've just finished a YA/paranormal novel, and also wrote a suspense/satiric novel that takes place amidst Chicago's alternative music scene in the mid-1980s.

Broken Hearted Toy

The blog title comes from the line, "I'm the brokenhearted toy you play with" in the song "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. One of the great original British Invasion bands, The Hollies continue to have an immense influence on power pop bands to this day, and have finally been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is a video of "I Can't Let Go" being performed in 1966.